Author's note:

Sorry for the long wait between updates. Just working really hard. By the way, MERLIN SEASON 5 is awesome!

Enjoy this chapter.

Please drop a review!

…..

Chapter 28: Whispers and Rising Sun

"Remind me why this was a good idea," muttered Arthur under his breath.

"I never said it was a good idea, Sire," replied Galahad.

Arthur's hand slipped from the wall and he almost fell into the dark brown water of the tunnel. Fortunately, the knight from Aria's Cradle was following close behind and caught the king's arm just in time. Arthur was quite certain that this water was not good to drink.

They were all submerged shoulder-deep into the old passageways under the citadel. Those corridors had once been perfectly dried, but now the tunnels were all filled with rainwater from the last few days. This disaster was of course a courtesy of Merlin and his brilliant idea to create a deep trench around the city. The result was a deep moat that now made the citadel nearly impregnable. Arthur Pendragon had been certain that he knew those passages like the back of his hand, but all of the water and dripping mud was making even him loose his bearings. Thankfully, he wasn't leading the group.

"It won't be long before we reach the donjons, Sire," said Leon, his voice echoing from up ahead. "Once we've braced the walls with stones and beams, and added a few iron gates, Camelot will be a real fortress. No one will dare enter it from below."

"Isn't that what we're doing?" grunted Galahad.

"Be quiet!" said Arthur. "If we're discovered here, we're dead."

"I would have preferred to wait for Merlin," Galahad mumbled between gritted teeth.

Arthur ignored him. The truth was that they could not wait for him because they did not know that he would return. As far as Arthur knew, going to the Otherworld was a one-way trip.

The young king rapidly shook his head, not wanting his thoughts to dwell in this direction. He had more pressing matters to think about, such as how he was going to lead a battle in these wet clothes.

Leon suddenly came to a halt and began to climb on the wall on a few metal bars. It was very dark but Arthur could see a faint yellow light coming through the cracks of a small wooden door above their heads.

"Where are we now?" Galahad asked. He was less and less bothering about hiding the irritation in his voice.

"Lower stores. Near the vaults," answered Arthur.

Following Leon's lead, they climbed clumsily through the small opening. The weight of their chain mails did not make the task easy and Arthur had to pause a few times to breathe. Galahad did not even complain when Leon offered his hand to pull him up. As they both sat on the stone floor of the otherwise empty chamber, Arthur could not help but notice how old Galahad looked compared to the other knights. Yet there was a determination in him that was quite admirable. There could only be one explanation for it, of course: Merlin. Galahad's loyalty and love for him seemed to have no limit.

"Don't tell me we're locked in here," growled Galahad.

He was glancing at Leon who was listening intently near the wooden door.

"That's not a problem," said the knight. He then turned to Arthur, a concerned expression on his face. "We took too long to get through that door. Even if I signal to the others now, we'll never make it before sunrise."

Arthur's eyes immediately scanned the room for something they could use. They were in the lower stores, surrounded by old rusting equipment. Even before the passages had been filled with water, this place had been too humid to store food. He could see piles of old rags and ropes, worn out furniture, broken armour, bent poles, a rusty cart…

He caught his breath.

"Yes, I see it," whispered Leon.

Together they lifted the cart and freed it from the rest of the rubble.

Galahad was looking a little surprised. "You want to make a ladder, is that it?"

"Yes," said Leon. He was now pulling out all the good rope he could find.

"So does that mean that the plan…?"

"Remains unchanged," cut in Arthur. "Leon will stay here. You and I are going to take out LeNoir and Morgause. If you're up to it, that is. You're not one of my knights, so this is not a command. The decision is yours, Galahad."

He eyed the older knight patiently, watching the understanding and resolution form on his worn out face.

"If I refused, would you still go on?"

Arthur gave him his best grin. "Of course! Didn't Merlin tell you? This is how we do things in Camelot."

The young king turned to the door, ignoring Galahad's irritated expression. The door was locked probably from the outside to prevent intruders. However, being a king who had a very clever wife, he had the keys of all the stores and vaults. Somehow, being in possession of the keys made him feel like this was still his castle.

"So we're just going to work our way up?" Galahad said in a low voice.

"Don't worry," said Arthur. "I know all the little nooks and corners. I grew up here, you know."

"Merlin said you were arrogant. I'm just surprised that you lived this long."

Arthur did not have time to reply. The door was unlocked and they did not exactly know how many people were out there. Thankfully, the dark corridor seemed empty. Arthur closed the door behind him and slipped the key under it so that Leon could in turn get out.

There were no silhouettes on the walls or distant voices of any kind. Perhaps Morgause did not have enough thugs to patrol al the levels. If that was the case, it would play to their advantage.

With his sword firmly in hand, Arthur led the way with Galahad close on his tail. Just before reaching the stairs, they met a guard that the two men quickly took out. Then they hid the body in a broom cupboard.

"One down, only about two hundred left," murmured Galahad.

"You're even worst than Merlin!" breathed the king.

Arthur kicked a boot that was obstructing the cupboard door, and then he shut it with a creak and a clang. Galahad was right of course, which was really starting to get on Arthur's nerves.

The old was shaking his head, looking at the long staircase before them. "Why do you expect LeNoir to be in the throne room? He could be in a bedroom and there are hundreds of them."

"What else do you suggest?"

Galahad seemed to be thinking. "If we can't find him, we could let him find us."

The young king was fuming. "We haven't even started to look…! WATCH OUT!"

Arthur saw the three guards jump at Galahad from a shadowy corner around the stairs, the same corner where Merlin had more than once fallen asleep, waiting for Arthur to come out of the council chamber. The thugs came down hard with swords and daggers, but Galahad was quick to retaliate. He planted his feet, giving blow after blow with speed and precision. One of the thugs quickly turned his attention towards Arthur. The young king took out his opponent by making him trip and fall on the stairs. He then delivered the final blow, knocking his attacker on the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Not bad," said Galahad.

"Likewise," said Arthur.

The next few minutes were spent trying to fit another three men into the cupboard. But they had no choice; they could not allow the alarm to be raised.

They climbed the stairs as quickly as they could, making their way closer to the throne room. Near another narrower stairway, they met more guards, but this time they spotted the enemy first. Galahad did not waste any time in taking them out, going for the throat first so as to prevent any shouting. Once more, they hid the bodies inside a cupboard.

"Lots of storage, this castle," whispered Galahad.

"We're going to run out of cupboard space," replied Arthur in a low voice. "Come on, I know a shortcut."

At the end of an endless corridor, Arthur took out his keys to open a small service door. Inside it, there was a narrow passageway with only a torch on the wall. The hidden passage took them across many chambers, a little further away than the throne room.

"These are for the king's protection, but I never use them," said Arthur. "I prefer to face my enemy up front. So I guess you can say that Merlin is right: I am arrogant."

"I'll make sure to tell him that," whispered Galahad.

Suddenly, a moving shadow caught Arthur's eyes. There was also the sound of a creaking door and footsteps.

Galahad caught Arthur's arm and quickly pulled him into a dark corner. The newcomer was coming towards them with a confident pace. Arthur recognised him right away. LeNoir.

It was the opportunity that Arthur had been waiting for. Silently, he and Galahad began the delicate task of following LeNoir without being discovered. The dragonlord seemed to be in no doubt about where he was going. He was walking fast and with a purpose. At some point, Arthur thought that they had lost him, but then they heard footsteps on the stairs.

Arthur knew exactly where LeNoir was going.

Galahad was staring at Arthur inquiringly. The young king pointed at the sign on the stairs: The King's Physician. The older knight seemed to understand at once. He placed himself opposite Arthur near the doorway. Both of them had their swords in hand. And then…

WHAM!

At the same time that Arthur had jumped, the door had slammed right into his face. He felt his nose crack and black spots obscuring his vision. He was loosing balance. He was going to fall on the stairs…

Then he was pushed forward. Two strong hands had grabbed his shoulders and shoved him unto the stone floor. Arthur rolled and crashed his back into a stool. The next moment, he saw a pair of feet rush pass him and into the chamber. Sounds of crashing swords filled his ears. His vision was slowly returning, but he could taste the blood into his mouth.

Galahad and LeNoir were fighting. Their swords were slashing through the air at a speed that Arthur had rarely seen. LeNoir was light on his feet, but the older knight knew many more moves. With each blow, Galahad was making LeNoir back away into a piece of furniture, or step into some broken glass, or trip over a pile of books.

Arthur gathered his sword with some difficulty and charged as well. He took a few swings at LeNoir, but he fell back right away, his head swimming.

Galahad's attacks slowed down just by a tiny bit and LeNoir took the opportunity right away.

"Dragons!" he yelled, using the deep and powerful dragonlord's voice.

CRACK! Galahad had flung a jug at LeNoir's head. It hit on the forehead, knocking the dragonlord off balance.

"Don't let him speak!" shouted Galahad.

Arthur swung his sword at once, ignoring his throbbing nose. He knew that his aim was clumsy and his footing unsteady, but there were no other options: they had to take out LeNoir now. They couldn't let him call reinforcements. Even though his head felt like it was about to explode, Arthur kept advancing, using the surroundings to his advantage. LeNoir's foot hit a bucket and the dragonlord almost fell on his back. But then, he caught the side of a table and tried to use the voice again. Taking a broomstick with his free hand, Arthur whacked the dragonlord on the neck, causing to cough and sputter.

This might be my only chance, though Arthur. Dropping the sword, he spun on his feet and grabbed the other end of the broomstick. He then locked the broomstick around LeNoir's neck.

"Hold him, my Lord!" cried out Galahad.

But LeNoir was strong and Arthur could only hold him as much as the broomstick didn't break.

"What are you doing?" he yelled.

He could barely see the older knight through the dim light and the cloud of dust.

And then, he heard Galahad's voice loud and clear.

"Swefe nu!"

It was as though LeNoir's body had suddenly become a dead weight. The struggling stopped and he fell limp against the broomstick. Caught by surprise, Arthur almost dropped him, but he didn't want to let go too soon so he lowered him to the ground. LeNoir's eyes were shut but he was definitely still breathing.

Arthur's eyes darted towards Galahad. "What the hell was that?"

"A sleeping spell," said the knight, shaking some dust from his brown and grey hair.

"You have magic!" let out Arthur.

A sudden sound made him gasp. LeNoir was actually snoring.

"It's not a problem, is it?" Galahad said matter-of-factly. "Your greatest advisor is a sorcerer, is he not? Or maybe you've changed your mind about Merlin?"

Arthur suddenly felt very awkward. "Of course I haven't," he breathed out. "But this will take some getting used to."

Galahad's expression was a bit concerned as he began to bind LeNoir's legs and arms with a strong rope, and cover his mouth with a cloth. "It's just a few spells, and they don't always work. He might wake up soon, or he might sleep for a week. I honestly don't know. And I'm afraid I won't be able to fix your nose."

Arthur had grabbed a cloth from one of the tables and it was now filled with sticky wet blood.

"I don't think it's broken," he grunted. "It'll just take a few minutes…"

"Arthur," Galahad murmured all of a sudden. He pointed at the small window: "The sun."

Pale morning rays were filtering through the opening. In a few moments, Elyan would send forth the army. The battle to reclaim Camelot was about to begin.

Arthur held his breath. His chest felt tight. He knew that feeling. It was the last moment of anguish before a fight.

"The sun is rising."